Minn. police officer killed while conducting check

COLD SPRING, Minn. (AP) — A police officer has been fatally shot during a routine check on a resident in central Minnesota.

Stearns County Chief Deputy Bruce Bechtold says the male officer died late Thursday evening behind an apartment above a bar in Cold Spring near St. Cloud.

A St. Cloud Times report (http://on.sctimes.com/TwuwPZ ) says a suspect has been arrested. Police have not released the names of the officer or the suspect. Jail records show a 34-year-old man was booked in just after midnight on suspicion of second-degree murder.

Bechtold says he believes the suspect was in the residence that the officer was called to check.

No Stearns County officer has been killed in the line of duty since St. Joseph officer Brian Klinefelter was shot in 1996 during the arrest of three robbery suspects.